Towards a Symbolic Architecture: The Thematic House

ves CHAPTER V Towards a Symbolic Architecture: The Thematic House 1 Trematic House from the street, night [= THEMATIC HOUSE IN LONDON IS OUR MOST view. The two chimneys, London columns, focus sustained attempt to face directly the question of meaning. What, in the west elevation over an S-curved roof, a . N . . . Hildebrandtian motif, while the arched winthis agnostic age, is there to symbolise beyond the perennial themes dows, face motifs, focus the views out of the Of comfort and fashion? It would be difficult for me to sustain a belief in any house onto the trees. point of religious dogma — to design a house based, like Tresham’s Triangular Lodge, on the Trinity, for example — while the themes selected by twentieth-century architects, such as Frank Lloyd Wright in his Hollyhock House, seem limited in range. Historically, we are placed at a point of scepticism — scientists, cosmologists and theologians cannot even begin to agree on the nature of the universe — and many recent architects have celebrated relatively trivial subjects. We have therefore chosen an historical perspective that represents time, both cosmic and everyday. Instead of proclaiming certainties of belief, we use the hypotheses of science and conventional wisdom as guides. The notion is that even in a secular age, there are still 2 Front door with its stylised body, head and objective standards worthy of symbolic expression in architecture, art and initials ofall the family. The letter-box is the heart. ornament, and these are the standards by which we orientate ourselves. The THematic House is the reworking of an 1840s building that ends a short row of three ‘late~Georgian’ terrace houses. Because of the context, the existing grammar of the surrounding buildings had to be respected and we made only small variations on their themes for the house’s facade. But as one circles the house, from public street front to semi-public side to more private garden, this grammar becomes more and more expressive and individual (1): for instance the top floor dormer windows on the front, which resemble ~ those of our neighbour, are at the back multiplied to express one of the important themes of the house — the suggestion of a face. The front door of the THematic House also has a stylised face where other Georgian houses might have a fanlight. Belowit, mouldings suggest abstractions of the body (the hands signalled by two doorknobs) surrounded by abstractions of all the family’s initials -C, J, M, L-some of them back to front (2). I have tried to keep most of the symbols abstract or relatively| hidden since, unlike painting or literature, architecture cannot afford to tella … story the whole time. It-must be background as well asforeground, and so : . . far as symbolism is concerned,: have adopted a strategy of abstract ER representation, stylising the salient parts ofan image (for example:the eyes nose and mouth of a face) then: generalising” them into: geometric forms! which can be varied endlessly. Thereis a face house in Japan whichis so:literal 2 À that the front door swallows the inhabitant every night. More satisfactoryto°*

The Chinese Poet holds an ampulla in the shape of a pagoda. Borromini was the architect of S. two della Sapienza. Here he the wall can only by seen in their entire form from certain This is the symbol of divinity and its central column is the centre is drawn next to its pinnacle, which is divided into seven parts to viewpoints increases the difficulty ofgrasping the whole meaning of the universe. The sign the poet is represented by is the lotus create another zigqurat. The spiral symbol ofgrowth is drawn immediately. lower. The lotus was originally a symbol ofthe sun in ancient onto the pinnacle emphasising its twining shape. Egypt, then a symbol ofthe continual renewal oflife. It still had Prince Hito is wearing the sign of the chrysanthemum, the reproducing the exact physiognomy of each person. I used photographs or else used people to whom I am related as I did not try to make portraits, in the sense of the same significance when it migrated to India, and thence to national flower of Japan and a favourite of the Japanese China and Japan. Emperors for many centuries. though they were actors. I tried to give a different ‘skin’ to Hadrian has the sign ofthe Pantheon which was built under his nile. The dome of the Pantheon represents the cosmos and the ‘eye’ in the dome is the sun. Thefour walls ofthe interior under Thomas Jefferson has a vase at his side which comes from the Roman ‘Maison Carrée’ at Nîmes. The plan of the University of Virginia is draum on it. In designing the University, Jefferson people that I know so that I felt closer to the work that I was the dome each have a sculpture — representing the four seasons. conceived a central Pantheon-like rotunda with colonnades Hadrian; and Pat Moynihan for Abbot Suger. The face of Abbot Suger rebuilt St Denis in the reign of Louis vit. He holds an eagle with the sign ofthefleur-de-lys on it, the emblem of the French monarchy and symbol of life. The symbol of the linking small temple-like pavilions. the Jesuit astronomer was based on Luciano, one of my Hannah Arendt is holding a papyrus scroll ofthe Jewish laws. students. Hannah Arendt came from my grandmother and I visualised her in this way because one of her books is titled ‘Between Past and Future’ and a scroll is generally used as a symbol of life and time, with the inscription on one side of it the 'putti’, my daughter, Christiana. cagle is explained under Erasmus, the next figure. It is relevant to Abbot Suger as he spent much time speculating on the metaphysics of light and it was said that ‘everything that shone stimulated him’. representing the past, and the inscription on the other the future. making. I used my brother as a model for John Donne and Pythagoras; Roger Kennedy, a psychiatrist friend, for fused the pinnacle of S. Ivo as the sign for Borromini as it is the church in which I was married. The Pantheon, sign for Hadrian, is the building which my wife insists on On one side of the projecting comer is the sun with the emblem of the crow, on the other the moon with a three-legged visiting every time we go to Rome. Erasmus, translator afthe New Testament, is shown reading a hook with an cagle on it. The eagle is a Christian symbol of toad —a figurefrom Chinese legend. At the base ofthe loggia is a — is hidden by the loggia. 1 felt this was a way of putting my ascension because of its powerfil upward flight, with ‘its gaze vase with the sign for water, symbol ofregeneration. Sprouting Signature. fixed on the sun from the vase is a twig, the tree of life and knowledge. One sign of the zodiac - my own, the sign of Aquarius The Jesuit Astrologer holds an astrolabe. On it is a symbol of I don't expect everyone looking at the symbols to under- I thought it was important to dedicate the work to the owners of the house and for this reason F incorporated the wisdom, the serpent, which I have drawn eating its own tail to stand their significance, because that would require a certain signs of the zodiac as drawn by Charles Jencks. 1 also drew represent etemity, adapting it to the theme of my work. John Donne, the metaphysical poet, is given the sign of the amount of research. However, I find the signs illustrating the the signs for the figures in the same way as hieroglyphics, symbols intriguing in themselves; mysterious, as for example, where the outlines are ofa different colour. I did this as 1 was broken column {the support of life being broken) as in the Egyptian hieroglyphics or Arabic and Chinese characters are to aware of Charles Jencks’ interest in Egyptian art. For Renaissance eva this meant death, a recurrent theme in his work. those who do not know their significance. The viewer is invited Maggie. Keswick I chose two symbols, the moon and the sun, Death, specifically the skull, together with a book (which he is to take part in the slow process of reading the painting and the holding) was a symbol of time. fact that some objects held by the figures and names inscribed on part of Chinese mythology, which fascinates her. William Stok - December 1984

COSMIC AND CULTURAL HISTORY Several theories of the history of the universe contend that it began with a Big Bang ~ a theory which has affinities with the model favoured by previous cosmologies, the Cosmic Egg. The Big Bang is depicted in the Cosmic Ovat above the front door, which can also be seen as a White Hole — continuous creation — pouring out of a Black Hole from the ‘Anti-Universe’ (3). The blue band within the painting (read 1 based the structure of my work on the diagram of numbers drawn on the vase which the figure of Pythagoras holds in the painting. The diagram is a triangle, made up of nine signs arranged in four horizontal bands, which correspond to the basic the sun, and it can also be found in the structure of the atom. I the circle into two sections, yin and yang. helium and hydrogen. The galaxies formed from the cosmos are imagined the elliptic shape in the atom as a representation ofthe microcosm, with respect to the elliptic shape of the earth’s circumvolution, parabola ofa comet, or shape ofa galaxy, the mathematical numbers. macrocosm. This band represents the beginning ofthe world after Number one, the top of the triangle, is represented in the the Big Bang and the indined, parallel brushstrokes, which hallway by she circle in the middle of the dome. become darker as they move away from the light source, signify Number two, the second band, is represented by the division of the growth of the cosmos from the first elements in creation, Number three, the third hand, corvesp ds to my painti depicted around the walls and they return to the ultimate collapse which is itself divided into three horizontal sections. of matter in the universe, the Black Hole. from left to right, as the oblique brush- Number four, the fourth band, vefers to the four walls of the strokes imply) shows the gradual evolution of matter into elliptical and spiral galaxies — ‘Time’s Rhythm’ — which is also represented by the red band above. Below these hallway and also the sides ofthe quadrangle inside the ellipse on In the third band twelve eminent historical figures are depicted, In cosmology the number twelve stands for the macrothe floor, which represents the earth. cosm and ] intended my work to be linked with the cosmos, not levels are historical figures from different cultures engaged in conversation. For instance the Egyptian architect and physician, Imhotep, looks down at his stepped pyramid while Pythagoras looks up at the heavens to confirm his theory of number. The sequence ends with Thomas Jefferson and Hannah Arendt debating cultural revolutions which derive, etymologically, from cosmic ones (2). Rather than describing our original programme, we have reproduced here the artist William Stok’s reinterpretation since it is obviously closer to the “final result. 110 1 selected one of the primary colours for each of the three the earth. Thefigures are ser chow an full, butjust to the waist, lower bands of the painting — red, blue, and yellowish brown. This follows the conception ofthe celestial hierarchy formulated by Dionysius Exiguus in thefifth century. Redfor the seraphim, contains a sign ofthe zodiac in each one ofits twelve curves. The like the sculpted busts in the two rooms adjoining the entrance. Each person is represented by a sign, a ‘hieroglyphic’ with a ymbolic ing which unites the figures. Imhotep has the sign ofthe ziggurat to represent thefact that he was the first architect in Egypt to create a building made in stepped form. The ziggurat was built in imitation of sacred mountains; it was called the mountain of god or the heel of serpentine line attempts to imitate the flowing ofthe river, the heaven. It was composed ofseven steps — seven was thought ofas god Oceanus. 4 the number of perfection, a sacred number. Prob, ep is c to the nextfigure, Pythagoras. They both made use ofmathematics, the Egyptian for functional reasons and the Greek for abstract or metaphysical reasons. Both Imhotep and Pythagoras those nearest to God, bluefor the cherubim, angels and sky, and yellow for the earth. In the first band the serpent with its undulating form In the second band the elliptic shape above the front door represents the Big Bang, and also echoes the Tantric Cosmic Egg, symbol of creation. I have used the ellipse because it is an integral part ofthe design ofthe house, for example in the dome in the hall and the drawn ellipse on thefloor. The elliptic shape refers to Kepler’s discovery ofthe shape ofthe earth's path round were adulated as god-like figures after their deaths. Pythagoras has the diagram he designed which consists of the first nine numbers. Once again this is in the shape ofa ziggurat.

COSMIC AND CULTURAL HISTORY 1 based the structure of my work on the diagram of numbers the sun, and it can also be found in the structure 0° Several theories of the history of the uni- drawn on the vase which the figure of.Pythagoras holds in the verse contend that it began with a Big Bang painting. The diagram is a triangle, made up of nine signs — a theory which has affinities with the” arranged infour horizontal bands, which correspond to the basic microcosm, with respect to the elliptic shape o: circumvolution, parabola ofa comet, or shape of: model favoured by previous cosmologies, mathematical numbers. the Cosmic Egg. The Big Bang is depicted Number one, the top of the triangle, is represented in the hallway by the circle in the middle of the dome. in the Cosmic Ovat above the front door, which can also be seen as a White Hole — continuous creation — pouring out of a Black Hole from the ‘Anti-Universe’ (3). The blue band within the painting (read from left to right, as the oblique brushstrokes imply) shows the gradual evolution imagined the elliptic shape in the atom as a represer: macrocosm. This band represents the beginning of tit the Big Bang and the inclined, parallel bnishst become darker as they move away from the light sv: Number two, the second band, is represented by the division of the growth of the cosmos from the first element: helium and hydrogen. The galaxiesformed from tii the circle into two sections, yin and yang. Number three, the third hand, corresponds to my painting depicted around the walls and they return to the ultir: which is itselfdivided into three horizontal sections. ofmater in the universe, the Black Hole. Number four, the fourth band, refers to the four walls of the In the third band twelve eminent historica: hallway and also the sides ofthe quadrangle inside the ellipse on depicted. In cosmology the number twelve stands 1 of matter into elliptical and spiral galaxies — the floor, which represents the earth. cosm and I intended my work to be linked with the ‘Time’s Rhythm’ — which is also represented by the red band above. Below these levels are historical figures from different cultures engaged in conversation. For instance the Egyptian architect and physician, Imhotep, looks down at his stepped pyramid while Pythagoras looks up at the heavens to confirm his theory of number. I selected one ofthe primary colours for each ofthe three lower bands of the painting — red, blue, and yellowish brown. This follows the conception ofthe celestial hierarchy formulated by Dionysius Exiguusin thefifth century. Redfor the seraphim, the earth. Thefigures are nor shown infall, butjust. like the sculpted busts in the two rooms adjoining : The sequence ends with Thomas Jefferson “and Hannah Arendt debating cultural re„volutions. which derive, erymologically those nearest to God, bluefor the cherubim, angels and ae and yellow for the earth. In the first band the serpent with its undulating pn contains a sign ofthe zodiac in each one ofits twelve aurves. The serpentine line attempts to imitate theflowing ofthe river, the god Oceanus. In the second band the. ell sie netheondoor Each person is represented by a sign, a ‘hierogl;: symbolic meaning which unites the figures. Imhotep has the sign ofthe ziggurat to represent th was the first architect in Egypt to create a build: stepped form. The ziggurat was built in imitan. mountains; it was called the mountain of god o heaven. It was composed of seven steps — seven was ! the number ofperfection, a sacred number. Imhotep to the nextfigure, Pythagoras. They both made use. ties, the Egyptian fer functional .reasons and th: : “ahead or meeps reasons. Both Imhotep an

Page | of 1 SENOKS PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.com Forecasts: PW Reviews TOWARDS A SYMBOLIC ARCHITECTURE JENCKS CHARLES, Rizzoli International Publications, Incorporated, $60.00 ISBN 0-8478-0659-6 Jencks's Thematic House in London, a reworking of an 1840s townhouse, fulfills his view that modern architecture can embody D's=onal personal symbolism. The entrance room, called the Cosmic Oval, is meant to suggest the Big Bang. On its walls, huge, fiery figures of Thomas Jefferson, Hannah Arendt and Pythagoras debate and ponder. Most of the other rooms illustrate a specific theme, with arcane borrowings that range from Baroque to Art Nouveau. Depending upon the viewer's taste, this microcosm of the universe is either a messy, eclectic riot of styles or a dream vision. An influential architect and critic, Jencks discusses Egypt's pyramids, Chinese gardens and Gaudi's buildings as examples of symbolic architecture. While one can applaud his plea to reunite the everyday with the cosmos, his own buildings directed to this end are cold and contrived. The rest of this lavishly illustrated essay deals with the Elemental House in Los Angeles, a studio isolated in the woods and a converted Scottish farm, all designed 5 A) A P or built by Jencks. December (11/8/85) n) ) Wis Back To Forecasts (ud > ( Nu ST & | Ivo / | [ PW Home ] [ Bestsellers ] [ Subscribe ] [ Search ] Copyright 2000. Publishers Weekly. All rights reserved. _c Kt T va dS” Waren http://www.publishersweekly.com/index_reviews/19851 108_41466.asp